on the broadcast here tonight, sweating it out. a dangerous heat affecting more than half the nation and getting worse before it gets better. closing court a big city has to turn people away because the money has run out. is this any way for courts in america to do business? family ties. if you have the gene that raises your risk of alzheimer's disease, would you want to know about it? tonight the story of a family that had to make that decision. making a difference for noble animals that deserve a better life. and coming in for a very last time. and coming in for a very last time. nightly news begins right now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. they tell us the scientific explanation is this. high pressure compressing the air, cooking the air and ramming it down on top of us and holding it there. but here's the real problem. there are now 34 states where there are heat advisories or heat warnings. one million square miles of our country where folks are being warned about the heat tonight. this heat, the severe heart of it, affects 141 million americans as it's moved over big population centers, we can see how it's gotten worse in time lapse in recent days. we have it all covered tonight beginning with kevin tibbles on michigan avenue. kevin, good evening. >> reporter: brian, it is hot, it is oppressive, and it is dangerous. already numerous deaths are being blamed on the heat as millions try to cope in this pressure cooker. tens of millions of americans

are tonight trapped in a withering combination of heat and humidity. it is even 95 degrees in bismarck, north dakota, a place usually associated with snow. >> really, really hot. >> very, very, very hot. >> reporter: in chicago, kids found a different way to cool off. this oppressive dome of heat is as dangerous as it is uncomfortable and is already being blamed for more than 20 deaths. >> extreme. it's like hell on earth. >> it's a lot better than a blizzard but it's still not good. >> reporter: on chicago's west side, student tyron is selling ice cold water for a buck apiece. >> i sell water, they stay cool. >> reporter: memories of the 1995 check heatwave in which some 750 people died have emergency rooms here at the ready. >> we've been much more aggressive in pre-empting things and identifying patients that come in with heat-related

disorders. >> reporter: nationwide, headlines say, hot, hot, hot, and cedar rapids gazette says, burning rubber. so hot in minneapolis the pavement buckled in places. in kansas city they are being told to preserve water and tempteds in the mid-90s at wrigley field had fans hoping to beat the heat and the phillies. they lost on both accounts. . searing temperatures is taking its toll across the country. >> i'm janet. texas in its third week of triple digit temperatures along with oak la home ma and other southern states made worse in a once in a generation doubt that extends from florida to texas. >> where all of the concrete is baking and temperatures soaring, most of the northeast hit the 90s but a lot of places expect to shatter 100 degrees by

friday, making sight seeing pretty sweltering for the folks that come here to have a good time. >> reporter: a good time, too, for the animals at chicago's brooklyn zoo, feeding them special popsicles specially made for the lions, tigers, and bears. oh, my. health officials are urging people to stay hydrated, stay indoors if it's cooler and check on your elderly neighbors and relatives. now is a good time to be a good neighbor. brian? >> kevin tibbles, thanks, as always. let's talk about how long of a haul we are in for. i get that it's july and supposed to be hot but this air mass seems particularly cool. >> well, it's been sitting over the same area for weeks and weeks and weeks now and started to shift northward through the canadian border and the mid-atlantic coast. we will see a break for parts of the northeast and mid-atlantic but not for the central and southern plains that's been suffering for so long with all

of this heat. >> and where does it go? >> it goes eastward a little bit. for tomorrow, we're expecting all of this heat to come in the direction of new york city and washington, d.c. temperatures in mid-to upper 90s. it extends all the way back to the central and southern plains. they have been experiencing that drought and that dry land heats up even more. they will continue to see that. we get a shift in the jet stream, it breaks the pattern for the northeast and mid-atlantic states. by monday the temperatures drop back to the 80s and low 90s. unfortunately, the areas that have suffered the longest will continue to suffer the big area of high pressure that doesn't move from texas down into portions of central plains. >> does this have to do with the long-term currents that they talk about? >> some of the long-term currents, certainly. but definitely the jet stream usually we don't get influence by the jet stream this time of the year. but it looks like now we're going to see a bit of a break for some areas. however, with these patterns that have been setting up and nothing moving, everything is stagnant. that's why the central plains is still so very, very hot and very humid, too.

it may feel like 115 in some areas. >> janice huff, always good to see you. thanks for stopping by here tonight. an american ritual, a visit to a magnificent park has ended tragically for three hikers that have been swept away by a waterfall. nbc george lewis is at yosemite where search and rescue teams have been looking for the victims for over 24 hours now. george, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. yosemite is full of visitors marveling at the many waterfalls brimming with water from record snowfalls. but three of those visitors, two men and a woman, were swept away at a fall in which officials are calling a tragic chain reaction. 1500 visitors a day go to the top of the fall. this youtube video shot by one of those visitors. the victims ignored signs warning them not to go in the river above the waterfall and one by one they were swept away.

the second victim trying to rescue the first one, the third victim trying to grab the other two. >> it's horrible to see people go over the falls knowing that they are plunging to their death. >> reporter: and tonight with the three victims presumed dead, the search for survivors has been called off. brian? >> what a horrible thing in such a beautiful and popular place this time of year. george lewis at yosemite tonight. george, thanks. now we turn to washington. this drama over the federal budget, the rapidly approaching debt ceiling deadline. it arrives, whether we like it or not, august 2nd. there were more meetings on it today. kristen is with us tonight with the latest from the white house. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. president obama met with republican leaders this evening and earlier he met with democrats from both chambers. white house called those meetings productive. one of the main things being discussed is a plan that was put forth by the gang of six. that's that bipartisan group of

senators who have been meeting off and on over the past several months. under their plan the federal deficit would be reducuced by $ trillion and changes to medicare and social security and $1 trillion in new tax revenue. here's what jay carney said earlier today. >> there is still time to do something significant if all parties are willing to compromise because the parameters of what that might look like are well known, especially to the participants in the negotiations that the president oversaw last week. >> reporter: and while the plan does have some bipartisan support, some house republicans continue to insist they won't support a plan that has new taxes. so negotiators are also working on a back-up plan. brian? >> kristen at the white house, thanks. and even as this budget fight goes on in washington, a story you might have heard in the news today, states across

the country are dealing with their own budget problems. and in california, the fallout from massive cuts has hit the court system there hard. so as painful as it may be on any given day to get a divorce, pay a fine, or even a traffic ticket, it's getting more difficult now to the point where one judge says the legal system is collapsing. our report tonight from san francisco and nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: meredith has worked as a clerk in san francisco for nearly a decade but this week -- >> i'm sorry to be form you that you've been laid off. >> reporter: she's among one of the 200 employees losing their jobs. pink slips mailed home to more than 40% of the staff. >> we were all told in advance this they were going to get them but it hurts.

>> reporter: with san francisco courts losing $14 million this year, the county will also shut down almost half of the courtrooms by september. >> essentially it's going to be gutted. >> reporter: presiding judge, katherine feinstein, who happens to be the daughter of california's senior senator, worries the justice system is collapsing. >> rather than being an entity of government that solves problems which we historically have been, we are, in fact, creating more. >> reporter: the courts have been getting squeezed for years, facing fiscal cut backs, they've raised fees, furlough days, and even hiring freezes. but nobody saw this coming. already backlogged, it could take five years just for a lawsuit to go to trial. to pay a traffic ticket, it could take an entire day. and now instead of six months, it could take a year and a half to finalize a divorce. ryan spent nearly that amount of time in his marriage. >> the california system is going to make it less quick and more painful for us. >> reporter: the cuts in san francisco mirror those across california and the nation. >> new york facing 4 to 500

court workers being laid off. des moines, iowa, laid off some 200 workers a while ago. >> reporter: the motto here remains justice for all but in san francisco justice may not be swift. miguel almaguer, nbc news, san francisco. american airlines has placed the largest jet order in the history of the airline business. in all, they are slated to receive a total of 900 new aircraft, meaning over the space of the next five years they are going to go from having one of the oldest fleets in the sky to one of the newest. american is now the third largest u.s. carrier. they will now go from an all boeing fleet to splitting this new order between boeing and airbus of europe. it's such a large order it can actually hurt their competitors by grabbing up the available jets both companies can pump out over the next years. overseas there was an extra ordinary service of parliament about the phone hacking scandal tainting the government and police there. meanwhile, the questioning may

not be over yet for the media mogul at the center of this scandal, rupert murdoch. nbc's martin fletcher has the latest from london. >> reporter: up, up, and away for rupert murdoch heading home to america after what he called the most humble day of his live. >> order. >> reporter: leaving behind uporder at parliament's emergency session. where prime minister david cameron ate humble pie, too. >> you live and you learn and believe you me, i have learned. >> reporter: cameron had rejected advice and hired his communications chief andy coulson, the former editor of "news of the world." >> with 20/20 hindsight i would not have offered him the job and i expect he wouldn't have taken it. >> reporter: coulson resigned in january and was arrested two weeks ago in the phone hacking scandal. it's engulfing the media and the police. cameron is accused of being too

cozy with news executives, two dozen meetings in less than two years. he came out fighting. >> i never had one inappropriate conversation. >> reporter: as for rupert murdoch -- >> you might say that the murdoch brand itself is hopelessly tarnished. >> reporter: still, the verdict in britain is that murdoch couldn't have asked for better publicity from the pie attack during yesterday's parliamentary committee meeting. it deflected some attention from phone hacking, bribery, and corruption on to wendi murdoch, the press verdict, what a wife. >> she was terrific revelation. my goodness, she brought those proceedings to life. >> murdoch is not off by a long shot. he and his son james could be asked to return to answer more questions. >> there are sure to be more hearings and there are sure to be more evidence. things will come out. other shoes will drop.

>> reporter: cameron today said inquiry into the scandal would be wise to include broadcasters and social media. he also said he wanted to turn his attention to more pressing matters of government, like the economy. but this is one scandal that won't go away. brian? >> martin fletcher in our london bureau tonight. thanks. when we come back here in new york, how one family could help find treatments, maybe even a cure for alzheimer's. and later, used and abandoned by drug dealers, now the effort at making a difference for some friends in need.

we're back and here's the question. if you're at special risk for alzheimer's, would you want to know? today at the conference in paris, scientists presented solid evidence that it may be detectable as early as 20 years out before there are any symptoms. robert bazell speaks to families known to carry a gene that

brings on the disease. >> reporter: when there is a cure for alzheimer's disease, this family will likely have played a role. their father vince had a rare gene that brought it on at an early age. he was diagnosed in his 40s. each of his children has a 50/50 chance of carrying the gene and if they have it, there's a 50/50 chance that they pass it on to their children. >> it's something that we talk about openly. we don't want to keep it inside. >> reporter: the family has volunteered for countless medical tests and medical psychological evaluations. >> we started this back in the '70s and -- actually, late '60s. >> i'm proud of the fact that we're not just setting back and letting it control our lives. >> reporter: already there is a discovery out today with one study with huge implications for drug development. >> brain changes that ultimately result in alzheimer's dementia occur 15 to 20 years before

there are any signs of symptoms of dedementia. >> reporter: the family constantly faces crucial decisions. >> each of you have made a decision that you don't want to know about your status, right? >> i don't want to stop living my life as far as worrying about the signs and everything else. i want to carry out a normal life. >> we've all decided that if there is not something that can be done, there's nothing -- no treatment, no possibility at that point, we decided we didn't want to know. >> reporter: did this have anything to do with your decision to have children yourself? >> we wouldn't possibly be here and i'm so grateful that i am here. >> i'm willing to play the odds that eventually they are going to find a cure for it. it may not be for me, but i have faith that it will be for my kids at least, that they can find a cure for this by then. >> reporter: robert bazell, nbc news, davenport, iowa. up next here tonight, the final countdown for two american space originals.

an american visitor in china has discovered what is apparently an entirely fake apple store in china. she writes that it looks like apple products, it looks like an apple store. instead, she says, it was a beautiful rip off, a brilliant one. while it takes a certain ingenuity, the sad part is that some of the employees really believe that they really do work for apple. we've been talking about

this current shuttle mission as the last of its kind, the end of the u.s. man space program when it lands early tomorrow morning. it will also be the end of mission control. after 30 years, 135 missions, it won't have a job anymore. in fact, 900 people will be laid off. the old apollo mission control is already an historic landmark. this one will be used for training mostly. chris craft, the legendary voice of mission control who created the place back in the early '60s is now 87 years old. he lived long enough to see that era come to an end. making this worse, 42 years ago today, neil armstrong and buzz aldrin landed on the moon. an important piece of 9/11 museum was moved where it was stored for years, into the underground portion of 9/11 still under construction. under that white shroud is what remains of fdny ladder 3.

12 men were lost that day. as they say in the fdny on 9/11, all gave some and some gave all. the pace of change at ground zero has been agonizing slow for those who just want a place to go to remember. it will still be next year before the museum will be opened. up next here tonight, animals getting a new lease on life by some people who are making a difference.

we end our broadcast tonight about people who are giving some magnificent creatures a second chance at a good life. we hear a lot about the human toll and the drug trade between mexico and the u.s. what we don't hear much about, the animals pressed into this duty and this dirty business and then abandoned when smugglers no longer need their services. tom truong has our report about an organization making a difference for these noble creatures. >> reporter: in the middle of the arizona desert, the sound of a thundering herd is proof of good works, because only a short time ago, these horses barely made a sound. hovering near death.

when this palomino was brought to karen's ranch, he had no name. no one wanted him. abused and broken, this 15-year-old was starving and scared. >> a lot of the horses come with a blank look in their eyes because they've basically given up. >> it's estimated 75 horses are abandoned each year by drug traffickers in this stretch of arizona desert and carry 400 pounds of drugs through treacherous terrain and are often left to die. they found a severely injured horse on a recent ride along the u.s.-mexico border. >> he was in bad shape. he was real skinny. you could tell he was real thirsty. >> reporter: they took the horse to equine voices where a little bit of love goes a long way. the horses train with volunteers, are treated for injury, and are fed to their heart's content.

the goal is to heal wounds, both physical and emotional. >> one of the things that really makes my job all worthwhile is when i see that sparkle come back into their eyes because it tells me that they are back again. >> hi, handsome. >> reporter: after nine months at equine voices, cash was adopted and is now a loyal riding horse for melanie's two children. >> he's a good horse. he has not forgotten but maybe he has forgiven people for what they have done to him. >> reporter: saving horses that were once abandoned and giving them a gift tom truong in the arizona desert. and that's our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

is. right now at 6:00 a big change for medical marijuana in one east bay city and the role that reality tv is playing in the move towards pot. a mother's fury to protect her kpichild. a u-haul unveiling a larger problem involving thieves and your gas tank. news 6 starts right now.